Back to the Future II: 13 Technologies That Became Reality in 2015

How many of you have watched the sci-fi film’s sequel “Back to the Future II”? Do you know the time machine on that movie landed on Wednesday 21st October 2015 which is today?

You must be wondering why we are talking about that movie? Well, we need to evaluate the 30 years of inventions and if they match with the expectations in the movie.

Let’s figure it out by taking into consideration each invention shown in the movie.

Smart glasses

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Marty McFly had a bulky pair of sunglasses he could use to answer and talk on the phone. McFly also had a pair of sunglasses which he could use for answering phone calls.

Google glasses are much more sophisticated then the smart glasses shown in the movie so without a doubt we can say that this invention has been turned into reality.

What’s more surprising is that this form of technology just came out last year to which we can only say “Perfect timing”

Flat screen wall mounted TVs

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Predicting flat TVs at that time was a big thing (Especially when large bulky TVs were common with no sign of flat TVs) and amazingly it was a perfect call. Flat TVs are more or less in every part of the world these days. Tablets

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Doc brown in the movie can be seen carrying something like table PC in the movie. This again has come to reality and millions use them around the world. But, this invention is quite recent so again “Perfect timing”.

Video conferencing

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

In the movie, McFly speaks to Douglas J Needles and his supervisor via video conferencing on a giant TV. Video conferencing was no more than a fantasy in the 1980s, again predicting this was a huge call, but a perfect guess as this is a common form of technology these days.

Facial recognition

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Facial recognition looked out of context and some might think this was just a part of the movie and can’t be true of the future.

In the film, a payment was made just by the touch of a fingerprint, but it wasn’t just the payment system that used fingerprint recognition, it was used to open doors too.

Both of these systems exist now, in the mobile device your fingerprints can be used as a form of security. Thumbprints for opening bank lockers etc.

3D movies

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Marty is left stunned when he spots a 3D advert for movie Jaws 19. We haven’t gone far enough to release 3D ads, but we have already seen 3D movies (even 5d in some countries). So one can assume we are not far away from achieving this feat.

Motion-controlled video games

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

The movie had 2 boys playing games with their hands. In the movie, hands seem to have replaced the controller. Even though we do still use controllers for most games, some are motion-activated such as Wii.

In the movie, police seize hoverboards and takes the gang on the hoverboards to court and as evidence presents snapshot taken from drone cameras. This technology is much more developed today, even the ordinary public have drones. So, we can conclude another fantasy turned into reality.

Flying cars

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Terrafugia corporation in the US unveiled Aeromobil 3.0, according to the company it can travel up to 400 miles in one trip. But, flying cars are still far from reality so we can term this still a fantasy.

Hoverboards

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Marty ditching the wheels on his skateboard remains one of the film’s most memorable moments. The film shows flying hoverboards which were a fantasy until Australia announced its hoverboard police unit earlier today. Oh btw, hoverbikes are here as well.

Self-lacing shoes

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Nike released self-lacing shoes in 2011 and has the patent as well. But, it still has a very low ratio of people actually using them. So, this invention is a reality in 2015 but still not very popular.

Rejuvenation clinics

Image Source: BackToTheFuture.wikia.com

Doc Brown doesn’t have to worry about night creams or exercise.

Doc brown in the movie was depicting human body as a car which just goes to the mechanic and everything is overhauled.

In the movie, he said:

“I went to a rejuvenation clinic and got an all-natural overhaul. They took out some wrinkles, did a hair repair, changed the blood, added a good 30 to 40 years to my life. They also replaced my spleen and colon – what do you think?”

This may remain a fantasy for very long time though cosmetic procedures are well developed, but Doc’s life-changing clinic is still a long way off.

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